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All boats – says the old adage – are something of compromise. An inevitable trade-off between great, OK and indifferent features. So it’s pleasing when the pendulum swings to the ‘great’ side of the equation.
The recent Windcraft Owners’ Regatta provided the perfect opportunity to explore Hanse’s new 418 – the upgraded replacement to the popular 415.
Fast, frisky and fun, the new 10.7m Dehler 34 is the racing-oriented cruiser’s dream package.
Easy to tow, simple to rig, quick to launch – topped by a generous splash of adrenalin-inducing performance. A trimaran for the modern family.
The elegant simplicity of the Navigator design has struck a nerve in a society flooded with high stress and hi-tech. It reassures you that the world is not such a bad place after all.
Trailer-sailers tend to fall into one of two camps – cruiser or racer. But occasionally you come across one that manages to skilfully blur the boundaries.
You know something’s up when a hardened petrol-head launching his jet-ski at the boat ramp stops to admire a timber yacht. “Bloody beautiful!” The smitten jet-skier was ogling Jade – a Gem 23 class day-sailer – and he was one of many admirers.
I don’t want to stand accused of having a fickle heart, but I have fallen for the younger, smaller sister of my previous love.
Good things take time they say, and good things are worth the wait. It’s the sort of advice you will get from Grandma and as usual Grandma is right.
Her owner describes this 18.5m cat as a ‘fun’ boat. That she undoubtedly is, but she also represents the pinnacle of New Zealand’s marine engineering and boatbuilding expertise.
A sunny day on the Hauraki Gulf might be half a world away from Dracula’s castle – but the dead travel fast.
If you’re wanting a little performance with your cruising, this new Italian import could be just the ticket.
Following its 2015 debut, Hanse’s mid-sized 455 cruiser (13.95m LOA) has quickly become one of the marque’s most popular models. And with eight sold here so far, the yacht’s shaping up as New Zealand’s favourite Hanse.
In the realm of modern maxi racers, ‘radical’ is almost the default description. The newly-launched CQS takes the meaning of the word to a new level.
Elan’s E5 is a sharp looker and a smart mover – and perhaps a worthy contender to fill the vacuum left by the demise of earlier generations of locally-built performance cruisers.
The new Lagoon 42 catamaran is a fun, spacious vessel designed for easy sail handling. She’s also chic and stylish – you may be tempted to wear tails rather than togs to dinner.
When you migrate to the Bay of Islands for six months of the year to escape the UK winter, having a decent yacht to make the most of the sailing playground is an added bonus.
The first Hanse 315 in New Zealand is the German boatbuilder’s invitation to newcomers to sailing to step onboard, take the helm and learn the delights of cruising without complications.
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